Towel or cloth holder



Jan. 11, 1944. H. PAIN 2,339,187

TOWEL OR CLOTH I TOLDER Filed Sept. 26, 1941 i Is I:

HfRBERT P/u/v,

IIVVE/VTOR Patented Jan. 11, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOWEL R CLOTH HOLDER Herbert Pain, New York, N. Y.

Application September 26, 1941, Serial No. 412,363

3 Claims.

This invention relates to towel or cloth holders; and it comprises a cylindrical member made of resilient deformable material, one end of said member being open, an integral wall portion on said member extending across the other end thereof, a plurality of slits in said wall portion radiating from a substantially central portion thereof, and means for fastening said member to a wall with the open end of the member facing the wall; all as more fully described hereinafter and as claimed.

The objects of my invention are to provide towel or cloth holders in which the rubber members cannot be torn or pulled out of place even in prolonged, severe use; which are compact, simple and inexpensive in manufacture; and which are of attractive appearance.

The manner in which these objects are achieved is shown in the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a front view of a device in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section through the device of Fig. 1, taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front view of another form of my invention;

Fig. 4 is a section through the device of Fig. 3, taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a front view of a third form of my invention;

Fig. 6 is a section through the device of Fig. 5, taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 shows a towel in the process of being inserted into the holder shown in Figs. 3 and l; and

Fig. 8 is a section through the holder shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a towel being held thereby.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, a cylindrical member 10 has an integral wall I l extending across one end thereof, the other end being Open as shown at l2. In the center of wall I l is a hole 13, and near the outer edge of wall II are holes l4, l5 and I6. Narrow slits l'l, I8 and I9 extend radially from hole l3 to holes l4, l5 and I6, respectively. Flanges and 2|, integrally formed on member III, are provided with holes 22 and 23, respectively, through which screws may be inserted for fastening the device to a wall. The entire device thus consists of one single piece which is best made of soft rubber by molding.

The device shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, except that flanges 29 and 2! are omitted. In their stead the memher It has an internal flange 30 and an internal ridge 3i defining a groove 32 therebetween. The device described thus far may likewise be produced from soft rubber in a single operation by molding. A disc 33 with a central perforation 34, made of metal, fibre, plastic or any other suitable rigid material, is snapped into the groove 32. This device may be fastened to a wall by a single screw placed in the perforation 34; the screw is tightened by means of a screw driver inserted through the central hole 13. Thus the screw holding the device to the wall is entirely concealed in this modification of my invention. The ridge 3| may be omitted in which event the disc 33 merely abuts the inner face of flange 30 when the holder is fastened to a wall. However, the provision of ridge 3i, or at least several segments of such ridge, is desirable because the disc 33 is then firmly held in its proper place.

In the modification shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the cylindrical soft rubber member H! has no integral fastening means. In this construction a cylindrical frame or shell 40 surrounds member ID which is retained within frame 40 by an internal flange 4| formed at one end of the frame and abutting the outer edge of wall portion H, as shown. The frame 40 has at its other end an external flange 42 with holes 43 and 44 through which screws may be inserted for fastening the frame 40 to a wall, the rubber member 10, loosely inserted in frame 40, then being firmly held in place. The frame 40 may be made of cast or stamped and pressed metal, finished by painting or electro-plating, but I prefer to make it of a molded plastic material, such as Bakelite or other synthetic resin, since this method of producing the frame is inexpensive and provides a natural, permanent and attractive finish.

The operation of all three forms of my device described above is alike. The holder is attached to a wall at a suitable location, as, for instance, adjacent to a sink. When a towel or other piece of fabric material 50 is to be inserted in the holder, a portion of the towel, preferably a corner, is draped over the index finger 5| of the users hand 52, as illustrated in Fig. 7. The finger is then brought straight forward whereby the portions of wall H between slits ll, l8 and H are deflected inwardly, When the finger is thereupon withdrawn the towel 50 is firmly retained in the holder, as shown in Fig. 8. The towel is readily removed from the holder by simply pulling it out.

In all the modifications of my invention the wall portion 1 I, subject to severe deformation and stress, forms an integral part of the cylindrical member I!) and can, therefore, not become loosened or displaced during use. The form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 consists of one single piece of molded rubber, the forms shown in Figs. 3 to 6 having a single additional fastening means, so that my holder is of simple, efiicient and compact construction, inexpensive in manufacture, and of attractive appearance, The disadvantages inherent in prior art devices are thus effectively overcome.

The base for the cylindrical member it must, of course, not be circular, as shown in the drawing, but may also be of a fluted, polygonal or elliptical shape. The wall portion il need not necessarily be fiat, as shown, but may, for instance, be dishecl or curved inwardly, if desired.

While I have found that three equally spaced slits in the wall portion H are very satisfactory, a. larger number may, of course, be provided. Even two slits radiating from the center 180 apart may be used which then, in effect, become a single slit extending diagonally across the face of the holder. In the latter case the cent a1 hole i3 may be omitted, but when three or more slits are provided this hole is desirable in order to eliminate the sharply pointed portions of rubber adjacent the point where the slits meet, such portions of rubber being subject to relatively fast deterioration,

The holes Id, l and 16 are not absolutely necessary for proper functioning of my holder, but they serve two useful purposes: first, they eliminate the notch effect at the end of the slits and thus prevent tears starting at the end of the slits and extending into the solid rubber of member it; secondly, they provide ventilation and thus permit faster evaporation of moisture which may have been absorbed by the portion of a towel located on the inside of the holder.

I have found soft rubber most satisfactory for producing the member H), but other resilient, de-

formable materials may, of course, be used, such a the material sold under the trade name Neoprene and other synthetic products which have become available in recent years. Other modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, and reference is, therefore, made to the appended claims for a definition of the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A. towel or cloth holder comprising a cup shaped cylindrical member made of resilient deformable material and having an integral bottom portion, the interior of the cup being free from obstruction, a plurality of slits in said bottom portion radiating from a substantially central portion thereof, and means for fastening said member to a wall with the open end of the member facing the wall.

2. A towel or cloth holder comprising a cup shaped cylindrical member made of resilient defcrmable material and having an integral bottom portion, the interior of the cup being free from obstruction, a plurality of slits in said bottom portion radiating from a substantially central portion thereof, an annular groove on the inside of said member adjacent its open end, and a rigid perforated disc having its outer edge located in said groove.

3. A towel or cloth holder comprising a cup shaped cylindrical member made of resilient deformable material and having an integral bottom portion, the interior of the cup being free from obstruction, a plurality of slits in said bottom portion radiating from a substantially central portion thereof, a rigid cylindrical frame surrounding said cylindrical member and having at one end an internal flange abutting the outer edge of said bottom portion, and external flange means at the other end of said frame for fastening said frame to a wall.

HERBERT PAIN. 

